1. Priority Claim
The present application claims priority to co-pending Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/338,398 entitled “Modal and Recommendation Based Electronic Program Guide and Method for Selecting Television Programming”, filed on Dec. 7, 2001, and having a common inventive entity.
2. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electronic program guides used to allow a viewer to select from a multitude of available programs.
3. Background
Electronic Program Guides (EPGs) are specialized graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that allow users to navigate through a multiple of programs available for viewing or reproduction. Many EPGs present one or more layered displays—often available on a dedicated television channel—to give a user an inventory of programs available for viewing or reproduction, as well as schedules and other details (e.g., channels, program length, program synopsis, etc.) about the programs. Pointing devices are often used to control and navigate within the displays, as well as to activate links to the programs of interest. EPGs are especially useful for television viewers who receive a great deal of television stations, as is increasingly the case with cable and satellite television services.
One common complaint of prior art EPGs is that they are not very helpful to viewers/users who are not sure about which program to view. While the displays may be attractively arranged, the user must still often sift through a great deal of information, making the process of locating a desirable program time-consuming, boring and intimidating for the “technologically challenged.”
Improvements in the prior art include presenting the viewer/user with a list of default program choices to reduce complexity and display screen clutter. This approach is often rudimentary, and not thorough enough to give a viewer/user enough meaningful choices that might actually be of interest. Other approaches allow a viewer/user who is sure about which program to view or reproduce to enter the identity of the program interest and link to the program.
The aforementioned approaches are either not as comprehensive as desirable, or they are not very effective for the range of viewers/users who may have widely differing degrees of decisiveness regarding the programs that they would like to view or reproduce.
What is therefore desirable, but non-existent, is an EPG and method which allow comprehensive navigation, but are equally effective for viewers/users who do not have any initial idea of which program to view, as well as those who know exactly which program to view, and gradations in between.